East Kosovo Tour
From Prizren:
1 - Gadime Cave
2 - Ulpijana Ancient City
3 - Gracanica Monastery
4 - Bear Sanctuary
5 - Artana (Novoberda) Fortress Rout map
Embark on an unforgettable adventure with our East Kosovo Tour on July 1! Explore the hidden treasures of this mesmerizing region such as the Gadime Cave, Ulpijana Ancient City, Gracanica Monastery, Bear Sanctuary, and Artana Fortress.
The tour altogether is 50 EUR per person in cash and it includes an experienced guide, entrance fees to Gadime Cave, Gracanica Monastery, and the Bear Sanctuary, as well as a refreshing café break and a delicious lunch in the village of Artana (Novoberda). 🍽️🌿
The tour guides will pick you up at 08:00 at the FOSS4G Venue and return you to back at 19:00.
Click here to Register
1 - Gadime - Marble Cave arrival 10:00
The Marble Cave or the Gadime Cave is a karstic limestone cave in the village of Gadime e Ulët in the municipality of Lipljan in Kosovo. Much of it is still unexplored. The cave was found in 1966 by a villager, Ahmet Asllani, who was working on his garden.
Gadime Cave is located within the marble limestones belonging to the Mesozoic era. The cave was formed during the tertiary period. In course of time the marble was subjected to cracking as a result of tectonic erosions.
The entrance to the cave is in two directions. The lower direction is relatively complicated and consists of 3 transverse channels, 2 parallel and curved corridors. The upper direction consists of two combined corridors. The total length of the cave is 1.260 m and its area is 56.25 ha
2 - Departure to Ulpijana 10:45 arrival 11:00
Ulpiana was an ancient Roman city located east of Prishtina. The Minicipium Ulpiana - Iustiniana Secunda was proclaimed an archaeological park under permanent protection of Kosovo by the Kosovo Council for Cultural Heritage in 2016. The protection zone of the Archaeological Park has 96.23 ha and includes Justinopolis, constructed during the reign of Justinian.
During the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, Ulpiana reached a peak of development, thus bearing the name Municipum Ulpiana Splendissima. After an earthquake in 518, emperor Justinian renamed the city to Justiniana Secunda. In comparison to the earlier fortified Justiniana Prima.
3 - Departur to Graqanica 11:05 arrival 11:15
The monastery is located in Gracanica, a Serbian enclave near Lipljan, some 5 km south from Pristina. Gracanica was constructed on the ruins of an older 13th-century church of the Holy Virgin, which itself was built on the ruins of a 6th-century early Christian three-nave basilica. It was located in the center of the Eparchy of Lipljan.
4 - Departure to Bear Sanctuary 12:00 arrival 12:25
The Bear Sanctuary Prishtina was founded in 2013 by Four Paws Austria in collaboration with KFOR, the City of Pristina, the Kosovar Ministry of Environment and the law firm Franke & Partner. The Bear Sanctuary Prishtina has currently in care 20 brown bears (as of January 2020). These ‘restaurant bears’ had been tracked down and registered by the government of Kosovo during the last few years and were rescued in 2013. For many years, there was no law against keeping brown bears in Kosovo. All privately kept brown bears lived in small cages at restaurants; they were born mostly in the forests of Kosovo or Albania and snatched from their mothers by animal dealers. As restaurant bears they were supposed to attract customers.
5 - Departure to Artana (Novoberda) 13:00 arrival 13:40
Lunch 14:00 time
15:00 – 16:30 visit of Fortress and monuments in Artana (Novoberda)
Artana (Novoberda) is an archaeological site. Artana (Novoberda) was mentioned with its present name in historical documents as early as 1326. Previously it was known as Novus Mons in Latin, Novamonte in the Republic of Ragusa and as Neuer Berg in Saxon texts. Artana (Novoberda) was a metropolis during the Middle Ages, with a huge medieval fortress built on the top of an extinct volcano cone, the remains of which can be visited today, and residential sections sprawling all around. In the outer wall of the fortress a large cross is visible, built into the stones.
Services Expected
- 1- Guide
- 2- Fee entrance Gadime Cave, Gracanica Monastery and Bear Sanctuary
- 3- Café Brake at Bear Sanctuary (Café, Tea or Soda)
- 4- Lunch in Artana (Novoberda)